Author's Note:

I really just wanted to write an AU where Karren and Shu both survived after the fall because Shu and Karren are my life and they deserve happiness and love and affection that they didn't get in the manga! Don't get me wrong, Ishida-sama is basically god and his manga is amazing and wow I could never create something that intricate and amazing and deep, but I want to take my babies out of his cruel, unforgiving world and into a padded, fluffy world with happiness and sunshine. The fandom needs more Shu/Karren. I will happily take upon this task. I probably won't continue with the plot of the manga, so it'll be mostly fluffy one-shots.

Feel free to hit me up with fluff prompts! I may write it if you request it!

~Momo

He was falling.

It happened without a second's hesitation. She jumped off the roof for him. Prying her eyes open, she forced some of the stitches to break apart. Her natural instincts kicked in as she snapped back to reality. Blood seeped into her already crying eyes, but she didn't seem to notice. All she could see was him, and he was falling. With a gasp of relief she caught hold of him as they plummeted together.

"Kanae, let go," he whispered hoarsely. "You must survive-"

She wouldn't hear any of that talk. Within the adrenaline and panic of the situation, she reverted back to her native German, yelling from her diaphragm and from her soul.

"NEIN!" she roared. That was the first time she had ever interrupted him. She continued in German, "Even if my body will break! Even if I have to sacrifice my own life! I will protect you." She cried with such passion and fervor. Her blood tears plopped onto his face as she choked out her confession. "You are my everything!" Some stitches around her mouth ripped open as well.

Her eyes were intense and almost unafraid. His eyes were taken aback and almost terrified.

She continued in German as the fall made her stomach flip over, choking on her words a bit, "May I, perhaps, express a final wish?" She waited momentarily, but didn't let him speak. "I wish that you would say my name. My real name." She gasped at the absurdity of her request, adding, "Never mind. It's not my place to make a request... But I want to shout it out to the world. How I really feel."

She could feel the ground getting closer and closer. She chose her next words carefully.

"I have to say it. Before my life ends." She cried a bit harder now, cupping his cheek with a bloodied hand. She smiled. "Oh, my dear Shu." She laughed a little at the cruelty of it all. "I've dreamt for so long of the day I could hold you in my arms like this. Mama, Papa, my brothers... please forgive me. Shu, please forgive me, but... forgive me, for I have fallen in love with you!"

With one last sob, they just stared at each other. She was terrified as he gazed into her eyes for what felt like a full minute.

His face softened as he grabbed her face gently and replied back in her native tongue, "Keine sorge..." He paused for a moment. "Nobody will punish you for it, Karren."

She gasped, still crying blood tears. Her heart filled with insurmountable happiness in that moment. But she could see the ground nearing both of them. With one final sob, she threw him out of the way with her kagune and smiled at him.

The sorrows of life to not be able to live like yourself. The joys of life to be able to die like yourself.

With one last look at her love as he flew away, reaching for her hand with a wild scream, she began to wonder what her last moments really meant.

Do I... deserve to be happy...? she thought, closing her eyes as she plummeted straight for the concrete.

She was falling.

"NO!" Shu shrieked as he watched her descend nearer to the ground.

With every last bit of strength he had left, he reached for her with his kagune desperately. It felt like his world went in slow motion as each millisecond passed by. His eyes were screaming in dismay as it looked like his efforts were too late. She was only feet from the ground, and he was only feet from her. He grunted as he felt his kagune take hold of her body right as she hit the ground. As her body bounced off the pavement, his kagune wrapped itself around her like a shield as he pulled her towards him whilst he flew into a nearby bush.

Shock and adrenaline coursed through his veins as he felt the impact of hitting the ground, plus the added impact of her falling on top of him wrapped in his kagune.

I'm alive, he thought.

The initial impact knocked all the air out of his already heaving lungs and made his vision substantially blurry. But he couldn't feel the pain, his whole body was numb from the shock. He reeled his kagune back inside and let Karren fall gently on his lap. He almost forgot to breathe as he pushed the hair from her bloody eyes, seeing if she was ok.

"I saw them fall over here somewhere!" he heard someone shout in the distance.

Like a wounded animal, he acted purely on instinct. Protect his own. Stay alive. Flee. Live to fight another day. He scooped her limp body into his arms and took off into the streets of Tokyo.

Kanae saved my life, I can't let us die here in vain, he thought whilst stumbling his way into a nearby alley. I'm not going to let the lives of everyone who died to protect me go to waste...

"There he is!" he heard one of the investigators call from somewhere behind.

Shit... he thought, looking around wildly for an escape path.

His arms felt like they were about to give out and his knees began to buckle beneath him.

"We've found him, move to exterminate!" another voice called.

He couldn't look down. He didn't want to know if she was dead or not. He would care about that later. Right now, he needed to focus on how to escape and fast.

He could hear the footsteps of many doves approaching from behind as he stumbled a bit. His heart twisted as he didn't dare look behind him.

Am I really going to die here? he thought grimly.

He heard the footsteps abruptly halt and the sounds and grunts of last breaths behind him. He whipped around, but the sudden motion caused his feet to sway from underneath him and he almost fell over. Much to his surprise, the investigators all laid dead in the street.

"Who in the...?" he mumbled weakly.

But he saw them. Touka and Yomo stood side by side.

He almost thought his vision deceived him, but no. They really saved him.

"You two..." was all the words he could muster to describe his surprise and gratitude. Without their help, he surely would have been overpowered by the doves.

A car screeched to a halt in the street perpendicular to them. He jumped at the sound, fearing more doves had come.

"Tsukiyama," he heard from the van as the door slid open.

"Hori," he breathed, feeling his feet grow heavier by the second.

"Get in," she said urgently.

"Here, let us help-" Touka offered. Yomo was already trying to take her from his pale hands.

"No," he interrupted quickly, clutching her body tightly though his grip was beginning to fail.

Both Yomo and Touka backed off and got into the van. He stumbled over to join them as quickly as he could. He maneuvered the body awkwardly, accidentally hitting some of his friends in the process of sitting down, and gripped her tightly in his lap. He didn't dare look at her. He was too afraid to know of her condition. The van zoomed off, lurching him forward a little.

"Here take this towel," Hori scrambled around looking for said towel before holding it out for him.

His arms didn't move. He had a severe death grip on her body, not daring to let go as if that was all that could keep her alive.

Suddenly, he realized who was sitting in the front seat. He gasped and tired to say something but he was beaten.

"Hello, my dear Shu," his father said, looking back warmly at him.

"But Papa?!" he exclaimed. "I thought you were captured-"

"When I heard the helicopter went down, I couldn't just stand by and watch," he explained calmly. "I met up with your friends, Shu."

"Hori," he breathed once more. "You sought help from ghouls?"

"Yeah. There wasn't anyone else strong I could think of," she explained. "And besides, I knew the people from the cafe were your friends. Though, I didn't know whether they'd help me or not..."

He looked to Touka and Yomo who were sitting across from him. "Kirishima-san, Yomo-san..." he uttered.

"Just say thank you already, Stupid-yama," she said, almost joking.

He almost smiled. Turning back to Hori, he said, "Weren't you afraid it'd be dangerous?"

"No, I didn't have time to think about stuff like that," she answered honestly. "To be honest, I wasn't sure we'd be able to save you at all. I mean, you were trapped at the top of that building. And that wasn't a height from which you'd be able to survive that jump. Who would've thought you'd actually jump, though..."

"No, I was thrown off. By Kaneki," he choked out. "And Kanae he- she saved me." He felt small tears beginning to well up in his eyes. "And, I tried to save h-her, but... But I might've been too late..." His hands tensed up and tightened the grip on her limp body. He still hadn't looked at her since he moved the hair from her eyes in the bush. "You said so yourself, I don't think she'd be able to survive the jump..." He only stared straight ahead, not daring to let his eyes travel to her.

There was a long pause before anyone spoke.

"Y'know, Kaneki... if he had wanted to do it, he could have, couldn't he?" Hori asked. "Kill you, I mean. So, maybe-"

"Shu," his Papa said warmly. "We'll take care of her. I promise."

He nodded, refusing to look down as his tears fell onto her body.

"She's alive, but only just," his father noticed. "Faint pulse and faint breathing, but definitely alive."

They had reached a safe house that the Tsukiyama family kept in case something like Lunatic Eclipse happened.

"It seems her head and spine are severely damaged, but I can see her kakuhou is healing itself," he examined further. "She'll live."

Chie Hori tugged at her friend's suit jacket, "Ne, Shu? Did you hear that? She'll be ok."

"You saved her, my dear Shu," his father added warmly.

He wasn't facing either of them. A soft smile curved on the corner of his mouth. "Good, I'm glad," was all he said. He walked away into the hallway, stepping into one of the rooms and shut the door gently.

"She'll need food before she can fully recover," his father said hesitantly. "But it's too dangerous to hunt with the family in such a state as this..."

"We can do it," Touka said, speaking up. She looked to her uncle who nodded wordlessly.

He almost laughed. "How could I ever repay you both for saving my son?" he exclaimed in such deep gratitude. "No, I couldn't ask you to help more than you already have-"

"Really, its fine," she interrupted. "Don't mention it. We'll be back as soon as we can."

"Thank you, thank you so much," he said, almost tearing up in thankfulness.

"Yes, thank you," Hori added. "Really, without you two..."

"I said don't mention it," Touka said looking away down the hall. She followed her uncle out the door and they kept off into the night.

Her badly battered, unconscious body was somewhat haphazardly sprawled out over the couch. Hori sat down in an armchair next to said couch while Mirumo loomed over her, just staring quietly. He hated seeing his poor son so torn up over her current state. He hoped more for Shu's sake rather than the girl's that she would make it. He did care for her, she was family and his only remaining servant after all, but he was more worried for his son's mental state if she didn't pull through. They'd lost so much in such a short amount of time. Shu needed support now more than ever.

Snapping out of his trance, he walked around the couch and gently propped her head upon the arm rest. He carefully moved both of her feet so that they were lying straight and set her hands upon her stomach.

"There..." he said, bending back up. "Now she could be sleeping." He sat opposite of Hori on the other side of the room.

Hori's leg was bouncing up and down nervously as they waited for something to happen.

Shu didn't reappear until the next morning. By that time, Touka and Yomo had come back with enough food for everyone, even some human food for Hori, plus some basic living supplies. They also helped move her into a free bedroom to rest. She still hadn't regained consciousness, but they were hoping it would happen anytime soon. Touka and Yomo left shortly after, saying Mirumo shouldn't hesitate to call if they need help again.

Shu stepped out of his room hesitantly. He looked like he hadn't slept though he was hauled up silently in his room all night. In fact, he looked quite exhausted. His eyes fell to the couch, expecting to see the unconscious body lying there, but instead he found his father and Hori alone.

"Where did they go?" he asked.

"Your friends?" Hori answered. "They left."

"And... and Kanae?" He could barely choke out the words. "Is... is she still...?"

"Alive. She's alive," his father answered. "She's in the room at the end of the hall. We figured it would be best to move her from the living area." He chuckled slightly. "She hasn't woken up yet."

A large weight seemingly lifted from his shoulders. Shu sighed with insurmountable relief. He walked over to sit down in the armchair.

"Shu, you should eat something," his father cooed.

Hori shifted in her seat, slightly uncomfortable.

"No, Papa," he replied. "I'm not hungry." He was lying. He was far too anxious to even think about eating. "Hori, you know, I think we'll be fine for now. You can leave if you want to. You don't need to stay."

"I know," she replied. "I just wanted to make sure you were ok."

"Hori, I'm fine-"

"You're really not," she said quietly, staring him directly in the eyes. "And it would be stupid to think you were." Shu just stared at her, not really knowing what to say. "For God's sake, Tsukiyama! Almost your whole family and staff were wiped out in a single day and you almost lost your father and you were thrown off a building by one of your best friends and you almost died trying to save Kanae's life! You're not fine. I'm not leaving." She could feel her passion boiling in her stomach as her words got louder and louder as she finished her piece.

"Alright," Mirumo said, interrupting, trying to alleviate the tension. "I'll go make some coffee. I expect we'll be here a while before I can arrange something more permanent."

"Thank you," Hori said.

Shu looked down the hallway towards Kanae's room. Hori shifted down the couch to sit next to her friend.

"You can go see her, you know," she said. "You were too scared to even look at her yesterday, but she's going to be ok in time."

He nodded, looking past his knees to the wooden floor. He sucked in a short breath and said quietly, "I don't know if I can."

Hori scrunched her eyes in confusion. "What do you mean? You don't want to see her?"

He rested his elbows on his knees and held up his heavy head by the temples. He bit his lips before he eked out, "Yesterday, when we fell... When we were falling, she said... She said she loved me."

Hori laughed. "Yeah, it wasn't really that subtle."

He looked at his friend in confusion. "You knew?"

"I think almost everyone did..." she admitted. "And I totally called that he was a she. Oh yeah, why...? Why did she want to be known as a he?"

"We all just went along with it, I'm not exactly sure why, though..." he said shaking his head, still looking confused. "How... How did I not notice?"

"Well, you were kinda obsessing over Kaneki the entire time," she said. "And then you almost starved yourself to death, then you got better... You didn't really care about other things, to be honest."

He sort of chuckled. "I guess I didn't. But... But what do I say to her?"

She hesitated. "I... I don't know. I guess, you gotta tell her how you feel," she advised. "But, how do you feel?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "We're related, but that doesn't affect her feelings..."

"Well, I guess you have till she wakes up to figure it out," she said. "In the mean time, I think you need to go see her. Really."

He didn't move at first. But after a moment, he slowly stood up and looked at Hori.

"Will... Will you come with me?" he asked.

"Yeah, of course, Tsukiyama."

She stood up and walked with him to her door. Tsukiyama walked behind her. At the end of the hallway, Hori waited for Shu to do something outside her door, but he looked frozen. She opened the squeaky door for him and encouraged him once more to go in.

He stepped inside the frame of the door, eyes fixed on the floor. He kept hesitating. He still wasn't sure if he wanted to see her. After a moment, he finally worked up the courage to look at her.

He gasped.

Lying motionless on the bed was a pale figure with arms resting on her stomach. She looked paler than usual and her normally purple hair was sort of spiked up and matted and dyed a magenta color from the blood caked in it. She was wearing a large black cloak that was ripped and tattered and dirty.

He took a step closer to see her face. He put a hand to his mouth in shock.

Her pale face was dotted with blood splotches. He had barley noticed it when they were falling, but her eyes and mouth were sewn shut. Some of the stitches were coming loose.

"Are... are those... stitches?" he asked, horrified.

"Yeah," Hori said quietly.

He sat down in the chair next to her bed in one fluid motion and watched as her hands rose up slightly and fell slightly with her breathing.

"Oh, Kanae," he breathed. "What happened when you went missing?"

Hori stayed by the door and watched her friend silently.

He scooted the chair closer to her bed and reached over to touch her face. He began pulling and one of the loose stitches on her mouth. It tugged at her skin and came out easily. He set it on the beside table. Slowly and gently, he pulled out each and every stitch binding her mouth shut. The tiny holes were inflamed and began to ooze out tiny streams of blood.

"Can you get me a wet wash cloth?" he asked Hori.

She nodded wordlessly and went out to fetch one.

His slender hands moved to her eyes next. He pulled each stitch out of her eyes even softer than before. By the time he was halfway done with her right eye, Hori had come in with a wet wash cloth and gave it to him. He muttered a word of gratitude and set it on the bedside table for now. He resumed the act of pulling out her stitches.

"How could I let this happen to you...?" he blamed himself, feeling a tear begin to well up in his eye.

"Tsukiyama, no. Don't do that. Don't blame yourself," she said softly, going over to comfort him. She let a hand rest on his shoulder.

"How can I not?" he exclaimed, exasperated, letting himself cry at last. "It's my fault any of this happened. If it wasn't for me being sick, she would've never had to hunt so much! And the doves never would've-"

"I'm going to stop you right there, Tsukiyama," Hori said sternly. "You are not to blame. No one is. Things just happen."

He stopped talking. He knew she was right, but still couldn't help but to feel guilty for her current state. Once again, he resumed pulling out her stitches. When her eyes and mouth were unbound, he picked up the washcloth and dabbed it gently over her face to clean it up from all the blood and dirt it had accumulated.

I swear on my life, I will never let anything like this happen to you again, he thought.

"There," Hori said. "She looks so much better now. I know she'll wake up in no time."

At that moment, Mirumo walked through the door holding two cups of coffee. "I've made arrangements for us to travel to Germany, Shu," he said, handing each a cup. "Of course, you're invited as well, Miss Hori."

"Thank you, but I think I'll just stay till you leave," she replied.

"When do we leave?" Shu asked.

"Three days."

(I do not own Tokyo Ghoul :re or any of the characters affiliated with it. All characters are owned by Ishida Sui and no copyright is intended. This was made purely for entertainment purposes.)